Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya

Taking the translation of Khalid Khalifa’s 2006 novel مدیح الكر اھ یة [Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya] into English as a case study, this article examines the concept of translation from the periphery to the centre as a consecrating practice and as an avenue for cultural exchange between dominating and dominated...

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Main Author: Mohammad Ihssan Zabadi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Western Sydney University 2023-02-01
Series:Translation and Interpreting : the International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.trans-int.org/index.php/transint/article/view/1582/437
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author Mohammad Ihssan Zabadi
author_facet Mohammad Ihssan Zabadi
author_sort Mohammad Ihssan Zabadi
collection DOAJ
description Taking the translation of Khalid Khalifa’s 2006 novel مدیح الكر اھ یة [Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya] into English as a case study, this article examines the concept of translation from the periphery to the centre as a consecrating practice and as an avenue for cultural exchange between dominating and dominated literary fields. It draws on concepts from socionarrative theory and theories of paratext to examine the textual and peritextual framing strategies that Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya might have needed to undergo in order to move to the centre and obtain a permit for international circulation. Textual framing is examined through two strategies of selective appropriation of textual material, namely omission and lexical selectivity. Peritextual framing is examined through the powerful thresholds of peritextual devices crafted on the front and back covers of the published translation. A micro-level analysis of how the text has been translated, packaged, and circulated for the consumption of the Anglophone market showed that consecration and peripheralisation were indivisible practices. The translation of Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya was not as consecrating as one might have assumed. On the contrary, it was accompanied by a regressive counterweight that served to re-peripheralise the translated text when translation took place from peripheral to hypercentral languages. This poses a provocative challenge to the general conception of translation from the periphery as a consecrating practice and reveals the effects of power differentials within the circuits of cultural capital.
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spelling doaj.art-572e3a94f84b449eacf85e4623ffa1622023-03-01T11:24:51ZengWestern Sydney UniversityTranslation and Interpreting : the International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research1836-93242023-02-0115125327410.12807/ti.115201.2023.a13Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ AlkarāhiyyaMohammad Ihssan Zabadi0Gulf University for Science and TechnologyTaking the translation of Khalid Khalifa’s 2006 novel مدیح الكر اھ یة [Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya] into English as a case study, this article examines the concept of translation from the periphery to the centre as a consecrating practice and as an avenue for cultural exchange between dominating and dominated literary fields. It draws on concepts from socionarrative theory and theories of paratext to examine the textual and peritextual framing strategies that Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya might have needed to undergo in order to move to the centre and obtain a permit for international circulation. Textual framing is examined through two strategies of selective appropriation of textual material, namely omission and lexical selectivity. Peritextual framing is examined through the powerful thresholds of peritextual devices crafted on the front and back covers of the published translation. A micro-level analysis of how the text has been translated, packaged, and circulated for the consumption of the Anglophone market showed that consecration and peripheralisation were indivisible practices. The translation of Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya was not as consecrating as one might have assumed. On the contrary, it was accompanied by a regressive counterweight that served to re-peripheralise the translated text when translation took place from peripheral to hypercentral languages. This poses a provocative challenge to the general conception of translation from the periphery as a consecrating practice and reveals the effects of power differentials within the circuits of cultural capital.http://www.trans-int.org/index.php/transint/article/view/1582/437paratext; translation; in praise of hatred; khalid khalifa; narrative theorysyrian literature.
spellingShingle Mohammad Ihssan Zabadi
Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya
Translation and Interpreting : the International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research
paratext; translation; in praise of hatred; khalid khalifa; narrative theory
syrian literature.
title Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya
title_full Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya
title_fullStr Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya
title_full_unstemmed Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya
title_short Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa’s Madīḥ Alkarāhiyya
title_sort translation from the peripheries of world literature the case of khalid khalifa s madih alkarahiyya
topic paratext; translation; in praise of hatred; khalid khalifa; narrative theory
syrian literature.
url http://www.trans-int.org/index.php/transint/article/view/1582/437
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